1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and an apparatus to facilitate the movement of large, heavy objects, such as furniture, boxed items, etc., inside a home, building or factory.
2. Description of the Related Art
At the present time, there is no simple solution for moving heavy objects, such as furniture items, inside a home or a factory, unless the item is already mounted on wheels. Apart from using heavy industrial equipment, such as a fork lift for example, a number of simple methods exist in the prior art to facilitate the movement of heavy objects. Unfortunately, none of these so called “simple” solutions is really effective. One solution, currently available in the market, and is shown in patents like U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,676, is based on the concept of inserting a smooth plastic dish or strip under the legs of the item to be moved in order to minimize friction. Experience has shown, however, that unless the item is relatively light, friction still represents a major problem. Another solution, such as the solution shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,223, is to attach wheels temporarily to the legs of the item to be moved by using clamps. Unfortunately, if the item has no legs, or if it does have irregularly-shaped legs (i.e., not a cylinder or a square), then attaching clamps will be very difficult or impossible. In addition, considerable effort need to be exerted by the user to keep the item lifted while the clamps are being attached. Other solutions are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,709,397 and 5,938,217. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,397 patent shows a dolly that can be used to lift a heavy object by means of side-rails mounted on the object. This idea, of course, cannot be used to move objects which have no such side-rails. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,217 patent is based on the idea of inserting support rails under the item to be lifted and lifting the rails by means of turning side-bolts which are mounted on a rigid structure equipped with wheels. This invention, however, suffers from a number of deficiencies. First, the insertion of rails under a heavy item may be too difficult and can damage the floor underneath the rails. Secondly, the idea cannot be used with legged items (which is the case in many furniture models). Finally, the process of turning a plurality of bolts to lift the item can be very time consuming.
It is the objective of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for moving heavy furniture items, boxes, appliances, etc., which is characterized by:                Can be assembled in seconds;        The assembly can be done by one person, with minimal effort;        Does not require any modifications to existing items;        Can be used with legged or non-legged items;        Highly effective, since the item to be moved is mounted on wheels; and        Quite inexpensive, which makes it suitable for home use as well as industrial use.        
Other objectives and features of the invention will become fully apparent from the ensuing disclosure and appended claims.